breaking news this morning, nine people dead. a killer on the run. the victims murdered inside historic charleston south carolina church overnight. happening now, the intense manhunt for the shooter. good morning. welcome to "early start."

i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. it is thursday june 18th. 5:00 a.m. in the east. a gunman is on the loose right now after shooting and killing nine people at a prayer meeting inside historic south carolina church. one of the most historic african-american churches in the country in charleston south carolina. a frantic search underway for a suspect that is described as a white male in his early 20s. the police chief calls this a hate crime. it took place at the emanuel a.m.e. church. this is the largest african-american congregation and oldest congregation south of baltimore. >> this is a tragedy that no community should have to experience. it is senseless and it is unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk into a church when people are having

a prayer meeting and take their lives. i can assure you we will do everything in our power to find this individual to lock him up and make sure that he does not hurt anyone else. >> let's go live to charleston and bring in producer ashley killough. we know it is 7:00 a.m. when the next briefing will happen by officials. bring us up to speed on what you are seeing there now, ashley. >> reporter: christine, the latest we have heard was about an hour ago. the charleston police department said they are still looking for the suspect. there haven't been any updates overnight as to his whereabouts or where they are conducting the search. we hope to get more information in the press conference in a couple of hours. we hope to find out more information. >> the suspect is described as a white male around 21 years old

wearing blue jeans and gray sweatshirt and timberland boots. the authorities describe this as a hate crime. let's listen. >> do you believe this was a hate crime. >> i do believe this is a hate crime? >> is this why the fbi is here? >> the fbi would be here regardless because of the side and scope of the investigation. they are here for that specific person. >> the only reason someone could walk in to church and shoot people praying is out of hate. the only reason. that is the most dastardly act that one can possibly imagine. we will bring that person to justice as soon as possible. >> ashley at this point, what do we know about the meeting that was taking place and what do we know about this church?

again, described as one of the most historically important african-american churches in the country. >> reporter: they were gathering for a bible study which is very common especially in the south, for people to gather at church on wednesday nights. they were gathered for that. the first call that the police got came at 9:05 p.m. that's when they were dispatched on the scene. this is a very historic church. it is a landmark in the city. it goes back over 100 years. it had a role in helping slaves escape the underground railroad. it is a cherished place here. a lot of other community leaders and faith leaders came out here tonight. a lot of churches in this area and historic part of charleston. they call it the holy city. that is one of the nicknames because of the religious community here. we saw a lot of people of different faiths gather doing prayer circles. they stood in a big circle and

held hands and praying passionately and singing worship songs. we expect to see more of that today. there will be a vigil later today where more people can sort of gather at this somber time. >> we were showing you pictures of the prayer circles and what it looks like inside the sanctuary of the historic church. you can see fund raising signs in there. you can see what is a large sanctuary where people gather. the event would have happened the bible study would have been in a conference room off the main sanctuary. as is the ritual across the midwest and the south. wednesday night bible study, ashley. >> reporter: it's a common tradition. we don't know how many people were there. we are told that there were survivors survivors. we don't know how many or who they are yet.

the police chief and mayor confirmed the total of nine fa fatalities. they are not releasing any names until all of the families are notified. there are reports surfacing of some of the names, but officials are not confirming those yet. >> we know one died at the hospital and eight at the scene. >> let's listen to the mayor who spoke with the families of those victims killed. >> we just left speaking with members of the family. a heartbreaking scene i have never witnessed in my life before. i told them that this community sends forth their love to them and that we are all in this together in this community to help those who have lost the

loved one get through this time and give them our love and support and encouragement as we bring this awful person to justice as soon as humanly possible. >> coming together is the only option after a crime like this. a hate crime. again, the suspect on the loose this morning. a manhunt underway. local police state police fbi all involved. ashley i wonder if you can describe to me the scene on the ground. what are you seeing in terms of law enforcement presence? >> reporter: we are seeing a few police officers right now. there are some fire trucks going back and forth throughout the night. a much heavier police presence earlier in the night when there was a bomb threat at the time. they closed off more streets in the area. they are not concerned about that anymore. they dismissed that concern when

they met with us earlier this morning. they are blocking off the street to the church. they are not letting people close. there is still caution tape. it has been a busy night. there has been a lot of people from the community who have come out. they mostly left later this morning. we expect them to come back. >> ashley you mentioned the bomb threat. i'm curious about the bomb threat. that was around the time of the shooting. there was chaos in terms of the law enforcement response. what was the timing of the bomb threat? >> reporter: a lot of uncertainty between hours of 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. they moved the media. the media was a lot closer to the church. closer to midnight they pushed us back farther down the street. not really saying why exactly. they weren't evacuating everything around the hotel, but

they did point everyone on the streets to be farther away. so they were not too clear about it at the time until the press conference and they confirmed it was a bomb threat. they are no longer concerned about that. >> ashley killough reporting there for us in charleston south carolina. hillary clinton was campaigning in charleston yesterday. jeb bush was scheduled to have a campaign event there today, but it was cancelled. robert costa is reporting there for us. he joins us now. robert you have been near the embassy suites nearby which is the community center for the families of those killed in the church. what are you seeing? >> reporter: i'm a few steps away from the embassy suites.

all of the families have come out in pairs and groups hugging each other with tears on their faces. some of them have shared stories about what happened today inside the church. there has been a lot of frankly screaming when people have heard the news when names have been confirmed privately from church members or law enforcement. it is a scene of people stricken and shook to their core. >> robert, tell us about the manhunt. the dragnet they are deploying. the early 20s sandy blond hair suspect. he was in timberland boots and jeans and hoodie. walked into the church and into the conference room or meeting room where the bible study or prayer meeting was held. lingered around a bit and started shooting. what do we know about this individual? what do we know about where he

may have gone? >> reporter: you are right. the point about him lingering around in the church that has been said by several people who spoken with witnesses, including norville. he spoke out and said the suspect entered the church while the bible study was going on. did not participate and then opened fire. i have been walking around sleepy city for hours. law enforcement has opened roads. they are not so much searching around the church itself, but you have canine units out. i have seen police helicopters and police cruisers looking down alley ways without lights on.

>> robert we should say there is a police briefing scheduled at 7:00 a.m. we could give more information on this shooting. any shooting at a church is a horrific tragedy. robert this is not just any church. this is a church with enormous historical significance. emanuel african methodist church. the history dates back 120 years. >> reporter: it is not just a place of worship. they describe it as the heart of the african-american community in charleston and in south carolina. the city with a rich history for african-americans. martin luther king jr. has come through charleston. >> we are looking at a picture from the king center. a picture they released that shows dr. king at the very

pulpit in the very sanctuary. there's a message going out. police chief giving a heartfelt message to the community of thousandhow to proceed from here. let's listen to what he said. >> this is an opportunity for us all to unite because of a significant tragedy that has occurred. what we need right now is we need everybody to come together and pray for these families. we need them to come together and help us find this person so nobody else is hurt. what we need is the community to look at this and say we have had enough of the violence. if we stand up together we can stop this violence. that's what we need the community to do. i understand you might be upset. those are emotions we understand. we need to come together and help us to support the families and support the community and catch this person so he doesn't

help somebody else. >> robert talking about how to proceed from here. at the same time you have a killer on the loose and investigation underway. it is almost as if this is so fresh and we have this very dangerous situation. what are officials saying in terms of what residents should be doing? i would assume if you are going to go to work in the morning, there is a killer a mass murderer on the loose in that city. >> reporter: i asked law enforcement in the last few minutes about that. they said the city is not on lockdown. back roads are opened up. the city is functioning as a city. it should be noted there are no protests at the moment. ashley said there are prayer groups. there is no kind of congregation of people. almost on every corner of charleston at this moment there are police and police cars. roads are not closed but police are ubiquitous. >> i imagine as the day progresses people will gather. gathered in grief, robert.

we said a 7:00 a.m. press conference is scheduled for the police. i heard reports of a noon prayer vigil at another one of the local churches. the churches will all come together. they will have to come together to grieve together and help each other get through this because the enormity of this is overwhelming. >> authorities are calling it a hate crime. any gathering of people though needs to be very carefully protected. you have someone who committed a hate crime on the loose in that city right now. >> reporter: that is true. there's a lot of concern. police officers are very present in helping guide people up at this hour to make sure they know where they going. what is fascinating to watch is how many religious leaders have had a presence near the site and urged everyone to attend the noon vigil tomorrow at the

moore's brown church. they are gathering to keep the peace and comfort the families. >> robert costa for us on the ground in south carolina. robert costa terrific political reporter with "the washington post." he was there covering hillary clinton yesterday and jeb bush has canceled his campaign stop today. >> hillary clinton says heartbreaking news from charleston. my thoughts and prayers with you all. that is a tweet she sent out. jeb bush saying our thoughts and prayers with you affected by the tragic events in charleston. the breaking news. nine people murdered inside that african-american church in south carolina. a manhunt right now. we will bring you the latest details after this.

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breaking news this morning. get you up to speed on the unthinkable act of violence in the south carolina church. a gunman opened fire and kills nine people inside at a bible study. the city's police chief describing the shooting as a hate crime. the suspect is a white male in his early 20s. he is still at large. sandy blond hair and slender build with gray sweatshirt and blue jeans and boots. police are looking for him now. his target the emanuel a.m.e. church. described as the heart of the historic city. >> this is the most unspeakable and heart breaking tragedy in historic emanuel a.m.e. church. mother church of the a.m.e. churches. people in prayer on a wednesday

evening. a ritual of coming together praying and worshipping god to have an awful person come in and shoot them is inexplicable and obviously the most intolerable and unbelievable act possible. >> after the shooting police were also dealing with a bomb threat made against the emanuel a.m.e. church. that complicated the response briefly and forced them to evacuate the area briefly. no explosives were found. you can imagine the chaos. nine people killed by the gunman. >> again, the manhunt underway. local police and state police and fbi. helicopters. streets closed all night. charleston south carolina waking up to the news that a killer is on the loose. someone who walked in to one of

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this is a church where dr. martin luther king once led prayer services. this is a church known as the heart of the community. the emanuel african methodist church. the police chief describes this as a hate crime. the law enforcement, local, state and federal on the manhunt for a man in his 20s and sandy blond hair. he walked into the church shortly after 9:00 p.m. and lingered for a bit and began fires. firing. >> the city police department and state department and fbi and other municipalities are all combined and working with us to make sure that we catch this awful person and bring him to justice as soon as possible. >> the focus right now in

charleston is grieving. the focus right now is on this manhunt. catching this killer. the focus is not on politics. south carolina so often the site of campaigning. jeb bush was scheduled to be in charleston. he canceled his campaign event. his event was to be a distance from the church. the campaign location is now used as a command center for local police. >> a lot of questions of the response and how wide the dragnet and what people living there should be doing with the killer on the loose. we are live with the latest information for you right after the break. verizon say neversettle. t-mobile agrees.

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breaking news this morning. a horrific act of violence at an african-american church. nine people murdered in what police are calling a hate crime in charleston south carolina. a killer is on the run this morning. "early start" continues right now. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is 31 minutes after the hour. a gunman on the loose this morning after shooting and killing nine in a charleston south carolina church. the first 911 call came in from the church at 9:05. a search is underway for the suspect. described as a white male in his early 20s. the police chief describing the shooting as a hate crime. anyone with information or anyone who may have seen the

person flee the scene is told to call 911. this took place at the emanuel a.m.e. church. this is one of charleston's oldest and best known african-american churches. >> this is a tragedy no community should experience. it is senseless and unfathomable that somebody in today's society would walk in a church and take lives. i can assure you we will do everything in our power to find this individual, to lock him up and make sure that he does not hurt anyone else. >> let's go live to charleston and bring in cnn producer ashley killough. you heard the police chief and mayor of charleston. a press briefing with the officials again in about an hour and a half. what is the very latest from officials on their manhunt?

>> reporter: christine, we don't have a lot of information on the manhunt. the latest we heard was about an hour and a half ago. they said it is still underway. they have not found him yet. the last time we were officially briefed by the police chief and mayor, was an hour and a half ago, they said they are still in the area but not giving specifics where they are looking or where they think he may be going. >> ashley i want to play some sound of the mayor and police chief last night. they are on the hunt right now for 21-year-old roughly white male with jeans and gray sweatshirt and timberland boots. they are calling this a hate crime. let's listen. >> do you believe this was a hate crime? >> i do believe it is a hate crime. >> is that why the fbi is here? >> it will be investigated as a hate crime. the fbi would be here regardless

because of the size and scope of the investigation. they are our partners. they are here to help us regardless. they are here for that specific person. >> the only reason someone can walk into church and shoot people praying is out of hate. the only reason. that is the most dastardly act that one can possibly imagine and we will bring that person to justice as soon as possible. >> the most dastardly act that anyone can possibly imagine. ashley describe the target of the dastardly attack. this historically significant african-american church. >> reporter: the church is a landmark in charleston. it is located in the historic district of the area. it is a very -- it goes back for a long time. the church established in 1816. it is known as a very significant place in african-american history.

i was talking to some tonight who said it was involved in helping slaves escape the underground railroad. the place is significant in the community. there are a lot of churches in the area. the city has a nickname of the holy city. we saw a lot of those faith leaders and other community leaders in the streets tonight. they gathered in prayer circles where they locked arms and prayed passionately and continuously calling for a sense of peace after the horrific tragedy. >> we just saw the pictures of the sanctuary. this is a hallmark of the churches. the fund raising sign against the wall and pulpit where martin luther king preached during the civil rights movement. the king center released the photo of him in that very spot. a couple of weeks ago, a local affiliate took the pictures of

the sanctuary. the shooting did not happen in the sanctuary. this happened where the wednesday night meeting was held. this is common in christian churches across the country. >> reporter: it is. it is very common for people to gather for bible study on wednesday nights. we don't know how many -- we know there were survivors, but we don't know how many. we don't have names identified by police. the police are still waiting to inform family members. there are names out that are surfacing, but they have not been confirmed yet. we hope to get more details at the next press conference. >> ashley stand by. i hope want to bring in "washington post" reporter robert costa. robert, i wonder if you can describe to me what you have seen overnight. you have been near the area where the families are learning the fates of their loved ones.

>> reporter: it has been a horrific scene. a very human moment to watch all of these families learn the news. they congregated at the embassy suites hotel near the church a block or two away. they have been on the second floor. the police have cordoned off the area. they learned the news over the evening. most have left over the course of the last hour. there were tears, screams. unlike anything i have ever seen. i think people are just grappling with the stunning news and turn of events. >> eight people killed on the scene. another died on the way to the hospital or at the hospital. that is nine victims of the shooting inside the emanuel a.m.e. church in south carolina. robert in some cases, is the police informing families and others church leaders there.

the news may be filtering to the families of the deceased. the police are not releasing yet the fatalityies yet. >> reporter: that is correct. certainly in the last hour i spoken with churchgoers from the a.m.e. church. they said prominent members of the church have been killed. the police have not confirmed the names. i am watching and what other reporters are doing, is church community grieving and coming together. there are over 50 pastors here at the embassy suites and other churches nearby. they are already talking about a vigil scheduled for noon thursday to try to keep the peace and keep people together. >> people will come together. i imagine there will continue to be the outpouring of support for the members of the emanuel

a.m.e. church. robert, you have been up all night following the developments. it is 5:38 a.m. eastern time. people out on the streets soon in charleston and as far as we know, there is still a killer on the run. any provisions being made? what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: the sun is actually starting to rise in charleston. people are on edge. i ran into a group of college students from the university of charleston a few minutes ago. they were startled and nervous. some were other people opening businesses at 5:00 a.m. 6:00 a.m. this morning. the most interesting development in terms of the police and in the course of the last hour has been the opening the roads. roads that were closed when ashley and i were there at 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. they are now open. the search is continuing but the immediate area in downtown charleston is not the area of

search. now it looks like the search is elsewhere. >> robert costa, thank you. we just learned that the 7:00 a.m. briefing has been moved up an hour to 6:00 a.m. that is just in about 20 minutes from now. one of the big questions i have for law enforcement. you are seeing the streets opening up but i think back to boston with two men on the run. you did not know who was on the run after the boston bombings. that city was on edge for days and virtually at a stop. >> we will learn more in 20 minutes from local leaders from charleston. nine people killed at an african-american church. a manhunt underway. the crime describe as a hate crime. new details after this.

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historic emanuel a.m.e. church. the mother church of the a.m.e. churches. people in prayer on a wednesday evening. a ritual coming together praying and worshipping god to have an awful person come in and shoot them is inexplicable and obviously the most intolerable and unbelievable act possible. >> wednesday night bible study ending in bloodshed. in 15 minutes, a news conference. >> we could get new information in 15 minutes. a manhunt still underway. we will keep you updated. first, other news. surprising admission from the new york prison worker who helped two dangerous inmates

escaped. joyce mitchell confessed she was having sex richard matt. authorities are now looking into whether she plotted with the two convicts to have her husband murdered. it gets stranger and stranger. richard matt gave joyce a painting of her children before he broke out. a painting that mitchell then gave to her husband as an anniversary gift. let's get more on the search for the two killers from jason carroll. >> reporter: john and christine, investigators expanded the search and redeploying the efforts. there is a lot of solid information coming in about the alleged murder plot with joyce mitchell and richard matt and david sweat. according to what the district attorney is saying the clinton county d.a. he says the inmates planned to kill mitchell's husband lyle after the inmates escaped from prison. mitchell allegedly told

investigators she planned to pick up the inmates after they escaped on june 6th. the plan to drive back to her house where the inmates would carry out the murder. the district attorney picked up the details from there. >> she department tell us. she wanted matt or have matt and sweat kill her husband. it was the topic of conversation once matt and sweat got out. why wouldn't they just leave the area and go south or go west wherever they had to go to get out of the area. >> reporter: john and christine, i spoke to mitchell's attorney saying she knew about the murder plot and told her husband about the plot. also telling police and investigators about the plot but he also says that joyce mitchell was not involved with the planning of the murder plot saying quote, just because she heard something about it doesn't mean she was going to act on it. he went on to say i don't

believe she was involved in any attempt to kill her husband. john christine. >> jason carroll, thank you for that. our top story this morning, developing and breaking right now. nine people murdered inside their historic charleston, south carolina church. police holding a news conference in ten minutes to brief us on where they are on the investigation and to tell us more about the nine people killed. we will bring it to you next. listen up team i brought in some protein to help rearrange the fridge and get us energized! i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength to keep you active. come on pear it's only a half gallon. i'll take that. yeeeeeah! new ensure active high protein. 16 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals. all in 160 calories. ensure. take life in.

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breaking news overnight out of charleston. clementa pinckney is among one of the nine people killed in the downtown church late wednesday night. the pastor of the church. that information coming from wcsc. citing local civil rights activists as the source. he was a state senator and pastor of the church. >> a pillar of the community there. >> on social media, people are posting rest in peace and noting he was the consumate public servant. nine people killed. the city's police chief saying this is a hate crime. the suspect described as white

male in his early 20s with sandy blond hair with a gray hoodie and jeans and boots. he walked into the emanuel african methodist church and lingered for a time and began shooting. >> our city police department and county police department and state police division the other divisions and fbi are combined and working with us to make sure that we catch this awful person and bring him to justice as soon as possible. >> now in seven minutes, there will be a news conference from police and local owefficials on the latest investigation. what is the status of the manhunt? the suspect is a male in his 20s. how close are they to capturing him? what information do they have on

the historic church? we have a live news conference expected a few minutes from now. the breaking news coverage continues.

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chris cuomo is picking up our breaking news right now. chris. >> thank you very much. we are following the manhunt for the shooter in south carolina. a church was the target. right now, a pressor going on. let's check in with the latest. >> the information out as broadly as possible. as i said earlier, this is a very dangerous and extremely dangerous individual. we need the public's assistance to identify him as quickly as possible. we've got copies of this flyer for you and we are also going to be e-mailing it to you. as we said please help us get this out as quickly as possible. the investigation is ongoing. we will be back here at 7:00 to provide more details about the

investigation. at this time we wanted to get this out as quickly as we could and ask you to help us to get this out broadly to identify this individual and arrest him before he hurts someone else either in the city or someone else in the general area. if you have any specific questions about the suspect that we're looking for, i'll be happy to answer those at this time. yes. it was at the location of the shooting. that's correct. >> what other >> reporter: what else can you provide about the suspect? >> he is a white male. he's a younger white male. we are estimating between 21 and 25 years of age. he's approximately 5'9" in height. and as you will see, he has a very distinctive sweatshirt that has markings. and i'll point out the vehicle

he has has a distinctive front license plate. so hopefully these things will help to identify this individual and our people our investigators are standing by. one of the things we have been able to do in the past couple of hours is set up a 1-800 number for any leads that could come into this task force. that will be 1-800-call-fbi. and the number is also listed there. there are operators standing by to take any information that would be provided. and what we're asking is regardless of how small people think the information they have might be we want them to call us. we have investigative teams prepared to go out to follow every lead that is sent in to this hotline number. and that's what we need at this point, we need information. we have a good starting point here. we've got a good suspect and what we need now is to get the assistance of the community. if they have seen his